Over the weekend, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul stirred controversy with some comments aimed at Super Bowl LX halftime headliner Bad Bunny. Now, it appears Paul is attempting to backpedal on those statements.
Ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Paul urged viewers to boycott the halftime show altogether, labeling Bad Bunny as a “fake American citizen” who “publicly hates America.”
“Purposefully turning off the halftime show. Let’s rally together and show big corporations they can’t just do whatever they want without consequences (which equals viewership for them),” Paul wrote in a post on X. “You are their benefit. Realize you have power. Turn off this halftime. A fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America. I cannot support that.”
Paul appeared to be implying that Bad Bunny was a “fake American citizen” because he is from Puerto Rico. After facing backlash for the comment, especially considering Paul himself lives in Puerto Rico, he slightly shifted his stance, claiming his original message had been “misinterpreted.”
“The problem with my tweet is the word fake being misinterpreted,” Paul wrote in a follow-up post. “He’s not a fake citizen obviously bc hes Puerto Rican and I love Puerto Rico and all Americans who support the country. Moreso Bunny is fake bc of his values and criticism of our great country.”
“To clarify: I wasn’t calling anyone a ‘fake citizen’ because they’re from Puerto Rico. I live in Puerto Rico, and I love Puerto Rico. I have used my platform to support Puerto Rico time and time again and will always do so. But if you’re publicly criticizing ICE who are doing their job and openly hating on America, I’m going to speak on it. Period. That’s the same reason I called out Hunter Hess. If you benefit from a country and the platform it gives you, but publicly disrespect it at the same time, that’s what I mean by being a fake citizen. And I agree love is more powerful than hate. Love America,” Paul added in another post.
Despite repeatedly taking shots at Bad Bunny and standing by the claim that he was a “fake citizen” who “hates America,” Paul then abruptly reversed course in yet another post.
“Guys i love bad bunny idk what happened on my twitter last night ?? wtf,” Paul wrote.
He went on to change his X bio to read “Benito #1 fan.”
Needless to say, Paul’s sudden shift led to a lot of reactions on social media.
“Nahhhh nahhh you don’t get to just go back on what you said. Be a man and stick to your word little guy,” someone wrote in a post on X.
“Bad short term memory is a sign of getting hit in the head too much…” another person wrote.
“Jake lost some brand deals and is in panic mode,” someone else added.
“Did something change overnight?” another person asked.
“Keep your hatred of Puerto Rico and move back to California and pay taxes,” someone else wrote.
At this point, it remains unclear why Paul made such pointed comments in the first place, only to retract them hours later after facing criticism.